TIMOTHY DALTON

"Stuff my orders."

1987-1989

In stark contrast to the beloved-yet-vintage Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton brought a much younger (and fitter) take to the character. Right from his opening scene we get to see how willing he was to do as much stunt work as possible (riding on top of a speeding jeep), and was apparently eager to do pretty much everything to the point the producers had to step in lest he get his expensive face pulverized.

I really like Dalton's version of the character, partly because it leads nicely in to the action-packed Brosnan era and especially gritty Craig era - my two favourite Bond eras to date. He's the polar opposite of Roger Moore, not exhibiting a whole lot of charm and preferring to keep the quips to a minimum, to the point it actually hampers him at times. It's been argued by those much more knowledgable than I that Dalton's first film The Living Daylights feels like a holdover from the Moore era, and was probably written with him in mind. The comedic side of Bond is undeniably Dalton's weakness.

And I'm thankful the producers understood this, because it led them to compensate the next time around with License to Kill, - at the time a polarizing entry in the series and arguably almost killed the franchise. But personally, I love it. It's violent, to the point, and meshes perfectly with Dalton's style. Not to mention featuring one of the best villains in the franchise, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi).